We left Salina on Friday, but not without a problem. Since we were right next to a Blue Beacon Truck Wash, we decided it was about time for Winnie to get a shower. She hasn't been washed oaths trip and was muddy, cruddy, and the fort was covered with dead grasshoppers and bug splats. The wash was uneventful and Winnie looks pretty good all cleaned up. When I went to hitch up the Fit, I found there was a pin missing from the tow bar where it attaches to the car. I thought I had a spare, but was proven wrong when I looked for it. I drove back...

Dwight Eisenhower's library was very interesting. ..lots of WWII history and memorabilia. It is built around his boyhood home which was originally a tiny 3 room house (not 3 bedroom...3 ROOM!) They added on another 2 rooms...and had 6 sons grow up in it! It's commendable that Dwight chose to be buried and have his library in Abilene.
We drove around the town and found this mansion which was built on the site of the first log cabin built in Kansas. It has been remodeled, restored, and resold and is now up for sale again for $675,000.
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We have continued to extend our stay in Council Grove partly because it is so beautiful in the Flint Hills, partly because we have met some great people and partly because we have heard of this fascinating, extreme bicycle race, the Dirty Kanza. 200 miles bicycling dirt and gravel back roads. And this year the added challenge is the complication of flooded, muddy roads from days of heavy rainfall. On one section of the course it was necessary for the competitors to carry their bikes for three to four miles while walking through ankle deep...

We were fortunate to get a prime campsite at Council Grove Lake Friday morning. Since it is Memorial Day weekend we weren't sure if it would be entirely full. On top of that, the lake has overflowed into about 1/3 of the sites, completely submerging the electricity box, the barbecue and picnic table. People who had reserved lakeside sites all had to be relocated. By some happy chance (!?!) there was a cancellation and the park hosts had not marked the post as available so we were able to slide right in.
It rained hard for most of Saturday...

Well we survived the storm power kept going off through the night so we then got woken up as the fridge bleeps if the power is off so in the end switched it to gas. It is a lot cooler today drove to Manhatten a town about 35 miles away lovely scenic route. First thing this morning Wal noticed one of the tyres was down so took it into a tyre repair place quite amusing place it was like going back in time loads of old men sat about chatting, we stood there for ages waiting for somebody to help us eventually got it sorted, but it was fate...

Wednesday drove just over a 100 miles to Council Grove staying here 2 nights, we are parked right beside the lake. Got lost on the way the GPS could not find it ended up on a dirt road having to un-hook the car so we could turn around luckily somebody was about that could direct us, turned out the whole area is not recognised by a GPS system even the roads were not named in places.
Later on in the day we drove 17 miles to Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve where we went on a bus tour of the area stopped off on route to see the bison. We...

First of all, a disclaimer, loyal reader Ken requested to see more pictures. So a few more have been added for your enjoyment.
The weather this week has been extreme, earlier in the week it was in the mid-80s, today in the 40s with a cold wind. Last night we were treated to a spectacular light show in the skies over Council Grove Lake. BIG LIGHTNING!!
Thanks to Gary & Vicki, we have discovered the Corps of Engineers Parks are a great value and generally, spectacular parks. This one is no exception. Several different campgrounds around the...

Enroute to our next destination, we left the interstate in Gardner, Kansas and continued on US Highway 56 which most closely follows the SFT. US 56 is a little narrow with few spots to pull over, so I took the photo through the windshield. And it’s true, you CAN see for miles in Kansas! But the scenery was beautiful as was the weather. We stayed at a Corps of Engineer (COE) campground, Canning Creek, located on Council Lake. The campsites were beautiful, right on the water, with a cabana, table and grill. It was hot and very humid the first...

The following weekend we were off to Council Grove KS for our SMART muster. And boy did we have fun!!! We dressed up one of the RVs and participated in the local parade...in the rain...it was a good time! We toured the countryside, visited a local cheese factory, learned about the Tall Grass Prairie and had an old fashioned wiener roast. That doesn't include the fun games and the wonderful conversations we participated in. It was a wonderful weekend!!

We went to Council Grove so we could visit Tallgrass Prairie national Reserve. As you know all the prairie has been turned over to agriculture. This reserve is one area not good enough for farming and so remains natural. They burn 1/3 of the preserve each year to maintain the grass, and they graze cattle. In the future they will be getting some buffalo. On the way there we saw some kids on the side of the road with a sign for free apples. Here is what they look like.
We also visited all the historical sites in town. They have a map and...